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Surface Book 3
The Surface Book 3 is the third generation of Microsoft's Surface Book series, and a successor to the Surface Book 2. Like its previous generation, the Surface Book 3 is part of the Microsoft Surface lineup of personal computers. It is a 2-in-1 PC that can be used like a conventional laptop, or detached from its base for use as a separate tablet, with touch and stylus input support in both scenarios. It was announced by Microsoft online alongside the Surface Go 2 on May 6, 2020, and later released for purchase on May 12, 2020.
Surface Book 3 retains most of the hardware from the previous generation, released in November 2017. This includes the same full-body magnesium alloy construction and design, footprint, keyboard, touchpad, cameras, discrete TPM chip with identical support for AES full-drive encryption, and the same display panel options. The 13.5-inch model Surface Book 3 features a 3000×2000 pixels resolution screen at 267 pixels per inch, and 3240×2160 pixels resolution at 260 pixels per inch for the 15-inch model. Both screens feature a 3:2 aspect ratio, to echo a key feature of the Surface lineup.
The new generation offers some hardware improvements, including new Dolby-certified speakers, improved battery life, a new hinge release, and an updated Surface Connect port that supports a higher electrical input. It is the first device in the Microsoft Surface lineup to offer the Intel 10th generation quad-core processors, optional Nvidia Quadro graphics, up to 32 GB of system memory, and up to 2 TB for data storage. The 13.5-inch model is sold with a 102 W charger, while a more powerful 127 W charger comes with the 15-inch model. Both devices no longer suffer from battery drain during heavy workloads, which was a problem occasionally observed with the last generation.
Much like the previous generation, Microsoft has opted to forego Thunderbolt 3 due to overall security concerns with the protocol.
As of May 2020, both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch models ship with a pre-installed trial of Microsoft Office 365, as well as a pre-installed 64-bit Windows 10 Home for all general customers. It is a downgrade compared to the predecessor, which offered Windows 10 Professional to all consumers, business and enterprise customers.
Unlike its predecessor, the Surface Book 3 only comes pre-installed with Windows 10 Pro if it is ordered via business procurement channels. For most consumers, it will only come with a step down, Windows 10 Home.
The new Surface Book 3 is backwards-compatible with some of the same peripheral accessories of its direct predecessors, such as the Surface Pen and the Surface Docks, however notably despite advertising otherwise, it is not fully compatible with the Surface Dial and lacks the advertised on-screen functionality.
As with its predecessor, the Surface Book 2, it has the ability to use built-in pen computing capabilities based on N-trig technology Microsoft acquired in 2015, although no significant updates have been made for this new release. All major tweaks and improvements, which Microsoft had first released for the Surface Book 2, are also applied to this new generation.
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Surface Book 3
The Surface Book 3 is the third generation of Microsoft's Surface Book series, and a successor to the Surface Book 2. Like its previous generation, the Surface Book 3 is part of the Microsoft Surface lineup of personal computers. It is a 2-in-1 PC that can be used like a conventional laptop, or detached from its base for use as a separate tablet, with touch and stylus input support in both scenarios. It was announced by Microsoft online alongside the Surface Go 2 on May 6, 2020, and later released for purchase on May 12, 2020.
Surface Book 3 retains most of the hardware from the previous generation, released in November 2017. This includes the same full-body magnesium alloy construction and design, footprint, keyboard, touchpad, cameras, discrete TPM chip with identical support for AES full-drive encryption, and the same display panel options. The 13.5-inch model Surface Book 3 features a 3000×2000 pixels resolution screen at 267 pixels per inch, and 3240×2160 pixels resolution at 260 pixels per inch for the 15-inch model. Both screens feature a 3:2 aspect ratio, to echo a key feature of the Surface lineup.
The new generation offers some hardware improvements, including new Dolby-certified speakers, improved battery life, a new hinge release, and an updated Surface Connect port that supports a higher electrical input. It is the first device in the Microsoft Surface lineup to offer the Intel 10th generation quad-core processors, optional Nvidia Quadro graphics, up to 32 GB of system memory, and up to 2 TB for data storage. The 13.5-inch model is sold with a 102 W charger, while a more powerful 127 W charger comes with the 15-inch model. Both devices no longer suffer from battery drain during heavy workloads, which was a problem occasionally observed with the last generation.
Much like the previous generation, Microsoft has opted to forego Thunderbolt 3 due to overall security concerns with the protocol.
As of May 2020, both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch models ship with a pre-installed trial of Microsoft Office 365, as well as a pre-installed 64-bit Windows 10 Home for all general customers. It is a downgrade compared to the predecessor, which offered Windows 10 Professional to all consumers, business and enterprise customers.
Unlike its predecessor, the Surface Book 3 only comes pre-installed with Windows 10 Pro if it is ordered via business procurement channels. For most consumers, it will only come with a step down, Windows 10 Home.
The new Surface Book 3 is backwards-compatible with some of the same peripheral accessories of its direct predecessors, such as the Surface Pen and the Surface Docks, however notably despite advertising otherwise, it is not fully compatible with the Surface Dial and lacks the advertised on-screen functionality.
As with its predecessor, the Surface Book 2, it has the ability to use built-in pen computing capabilities based on N-trig technology Microsoft acquired in 2015, although no significant updates have been made for this new release. All major tweaks and improvements, which Microsoft had first released for the Surface Book 2, are also applied to this new generation.